


Waiting For You

by suckaknob



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckaknob/pseuds/suckaknob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren jogs around the lake. Levi watches from his porch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting For You

      

                 Chest heaving and face drenched with sweat, a young man jogged lightly, feet slapping against the hard sidewalk. The afternoon sun shone down on him, his tan skin coated in a layer of sweat, his brown hair matted to his forehead. He noticed a couple walking hand in hand and he nodded to them, passing them as he turned the volume of his music player up. Turning his head to the side, he observed the gentle bumps of the lake next to him, the view calming him.

                Levi lived in a two story home, registered as historic as it sat across the street from the town’s largest lake. For anyone who passed by as they walked around the lake, Levi’s house was thought of as extravagant and expensive, but to Levi it was just another couple hundred thousand to spend on himself. People knew him as the crotchety man who secluded himself inside his home and only came out to read or to run errands.

                It was around this time that Levi would head outside, book and reading glasses in hand, and sit down on the swing he had on his porch. The summer heat was uncomfortable but Levi dealt with it, just like he always did, and diligently read, eyes flicking up every now and then. Almost like he was looking for someone.

                Coincidentally, Levi’s house sat in front of the lake’s only water fountain and as the young man spotted it in the distance, he sped up, challenging himself to get there before the last ten seconds of the song ended. His arms pumped at his sides, teeth clenched in concentration as he closed in on the fountain, heart pounding.

                To Levi’s surprise, it was a blur of tan skin that ripped his attention from the neatly typed letters of his book. Staring blankly at the bent over figure across the street, Levi shifted in his seat, resting his book on his lap as he observed the stranger. The young man was leaning against the fountain, face flushed with exertion as he tried to control his ragged breaths and hands placed on his knees. With a snort, Levi crossed his legs, an eyebrow raised unimpressed, why wear yourself out when you’ve got another half mile to run, it seemed childish.

                 Sighing heavily, the young man bent over the water fountain, a finger pressing the button and his lips coming into contact with cool water. Drinking heavily, he straightened up and wiped his mouth of excess water, breathing now under control. Bringing a hand up to cover his eyes, he looked up at the sky, wondering how hot it was. Deeming that it was as hot as hell’s asshole, he lowered his hand and started to head back to jogging but something stopped him.

                It took a minute for Levi to notice that the young man had stopped and was currently looking at him. When he did notice, his gut twisted nervously and his eyes narrowed, eyes challenging. It was hard to see the color of the boy’s eyes but he could tell that they were light colored and bright against the backdrop of the lake.

               He stared at the man across the street whose face was set in an emotionless state on the front porch of the emasculate house. The young man couldn’t look away, taking this staring contest as a challenge, but he noticed the clean-cut yard and neatly trimmed bushes out of the corner of his eyes. He found that he liked the deep brown coloring of the house and the late Victorian exterior. But everything else escaped his notice as he continued his stare down with the stranger, wondering who he was and why he was even staring at him. Deciding to break the tension, he lifted a hand in greeting, his lips pulling up and his teeth flashing in a smile. To his great amusement, the man looked away, seemingly embarrassed and the young man turned away, resuming his jogging with a quick glance back over his shoulder.

               Levi looked back at the young man, surprised to see that he was already back to jogging, his shirtless back glaring at him. Lifting his book once again to resume reading, Levi couldn’t hold back the small smile that lifted the corners of his lips up as the memory of their encounter replayed over and over in his head.

               The young man had finally noticed him. And Levi couldn’t have been happier.

_two months later_

                “What are you reading?”

                Looking up from his book, Levi raised an eyebrow at the kid in front of him, a sigh escaping his lips as he set his book in his lap. “Grown up stuff.”

                Brown eyebrows furrowing, the young man crossed his arms and scoffed, bright eyes narrowing, “Listen here, old man, I’m in college. I’m not a kid.”

                It had taken the young man ten days to work up the courage to talk to Levi.

                It had taken him two minutes for him to sass Levi right back.

                “Listen Eren, you are younger than me, which in turn makes you a horny shitstain. Now leave me be so I can continue being a responsible adult.”

                Eren knew the man was joking, or at least he hoped so as he climbed the few stairs to Levi’s porch before taking a seat on one of the vacant chairs. At Levi’s disgusted look, Eren shifted so that his butt was the only thing touching the cushions, forgetting for a moment that his skin was covered in sweat and Levi had a thing for cleanliness.

                Over the past couple of weeks, Levi had grown to admire Eren’s eye color. The way it changed colors between blue and green and the way they darkened whenever Eren talked back to him or the way they were so big and open. Like Levi could fall in and drown and be content just to be there. Those eyes were currently a light green and staring at him and Levi swore that he wasn’t blushing even as he felt heat seep into his cheeks.

                He lifted the book to cover his face and ignored Eren until his footsteps were the last thing he heard.

_four months later_

“This is weird.”

                Levi sighed, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he felt his patience running dry. This was a mistake. The very idea that he would even think about inviting Eren into his home was ridiculous, but actually offering the invitation?

                “I mean. I trust you and everything, I just feel really… underdressed.”

                Turning to look behind him, Levi raised an eyebrow at the boy, looking at his black basketball shorts and t-shirt that was damp with sweat. Honestly, Levi was used to the worn demeanor by now and he would go as far as to say that he didn’t mind the musky scent that emanated from Eren.

                Leading Eren through the foyer, he entered the kitchen, their footsteps the only sound as Levi opened the fridge to get them something to drink. He didn’t plan on inviting him into his home but it just so happened to be the hottest time of the year and Levi could tell with one look at Eren that he was one step away from passing out from heat stroke. So there they were.

                “Here.”

                Eren accepted the water bottle and he took a long sip, a sigh escaping him as pulled the bottle away from his lips. If Eren had to be truthful, then he’d say that he felt small and insignificant in Levi’s house. Like he didn’t belong. At the same time he felt comfortable, which was weird but it probably had to do with Levi’s presence. Something about the man made Eren relax and he thoroughly enjoyed talking to him, even if it was for a couple minutes every day.

                Levi duly noted the way Eren’s Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed and he had to forcibly tear his gaze away before his thoughts turned into something his mother would blush and hit him upside the head for. Coughing into his hand awkwardly, he walked into his living room, searching for something to say.

                Eren was mesmerized. Maybe it was because of the plethora of bookcases full of books that lined the walls or the large flat screen that rested on a stand in the middle of the room. Heading over to one of the bookshelves, he found himself enraptured by the dust-less books and the alphabetical titles that ranged from A to W.

                “Did you organize all of these?”

                Turning towards Eren, his eyes connected with green ones and he nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looked at his books, “Yeah. It took a couple of months.” He shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal when it actually was because it took him forever and he was extremely proud of his work. But he wanted to impress Eren and so he acted nonchalant.

                “Really? This is amazing. It makes me want to read them all.”

                A cough and, “Well, if you’d like, you could.”

                Bright eyes, more blue now than green, turned to look at Levi, mouth upturned in a smile, “Really?”

                Dark eyes looked away, Levi’s cheeks threatening to heat up if he continued to look at the happiness that oozed from Eren. “Yeah. I don’t have much to do and it wouldn’t bother me, so long as you put it back in its place and don’t take them out of my house.”

                When Levi looked back, now mentally prepared to look at Eren’s smile without blushing, the young man had already turned around, hands clasped behind his back as he read the spines of a few books, bottom lip caught between teeth. He let loose a mumbled, “Where to start?” without realizing it and a scoff had him turning back around to stare inquisitively at the older man.

                “You start from the beginning, how old are you? Learn to do things in order, idiot.”

                With a smile, Eren saluted Levi and walked over to the A section, fingers itching to flip through the pages of a book and to smell the age held within them.

                Levi eyed the college student and he had to swallow thickly to stop the words from leaving his lips. Instead he grabbed his own book and sat down in a chair, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and resuming where he had left off before Eren showed up. Levi hoped that Eren would never stop reading his books, even if there are around five hundred of them lined evenly on the shelves.

He hoped that Eren would stay forever.

_two years later_

                “Is it time?”

                “Yeah.”

                “Then I’ll see you later. I’ll be the one dressed in black.”

                “I’ll be the one dressed in black as well, you idiot.”

                “I love you.”

                “As do I, Eren, more than you could know.”

_sixty years later_

Wrinkled hands held the worn book tightly in their grip, green eyes squinting as they moved back and forth, trying for the life of him to comprehend and finish the book before he grew weary and had to retreat to bed. Years wore on the man and he knew that as time ticked on, his heart was getting closer to stopping. But determination held on to him, always being one for stubbornness.

                Having to take a break for a sip of water, the man caught the eyes of darker ones, their irises alight in a rare show of happiness and the old man’s lips pulled up into a small grin as his slowly returned to his reading. The picture was taken thirty years ago when he and Levi had taken the step forward to get married and they held each other in an embrace, Eren’s height dwarfing the other. It was the only time that Levi had smiled for a picture and it was the best picture that was left of him.

                But now he was gone and Eren was left to his own devices, his dreams filled with dark eyes and lips that spoke of brats who didn’t know anything of the real world. Eren knew he was spoiled. Knew that Levi had grown up on the wrong side of town and had only gained his wealth through hard labor and cleverness. But that made Eren love Levi that much more because no matter how many times Eren offered to move out on his own and get a job, Levi had refused and told him that he didn’t want Eren to have to exert his pretty little self into the ground.

                A fond smile broke out onto Eren’s face as he resumed his reading, his lover’s reading glasses perched on his nose, even if he didn’t need them. In a way he felt closer to Levi. Little things like wrapping himself in the blanket that they had shared when they had stayed up to watch horror movies or walking out onto the front porch to sit in the same spot Levi had for all of those months made Eren’s heart rest a little easier, despite the way it struggled to keep up nowadays.

                Every day Eren read a book. He had perfected the ability to skim through hundreds of pages and comprehend them throughout the years and he had utter confidence in himself that he could finish the rest of the books by the time he was returned to the strong embrace of his soul mate.  

_three days later_

                The grand house was silent. Its halls empty as a summer breeze blew through an open window, searching for someone. Anyone. Hours had passed since the last city official had been in the house, long since finalized the details of selling the home.

                Books were stuffed in boxes to be sent to the public library and blankets to the homeless shelter, as requested by the previous owner. Everything else was auctioned off and now the grand house sat empty.

                Save for one book, wedged in between cracked floorboards that had caused the old resident of the home to fall and ultimately pass on in the middle of surgery. Said book was well-worn, its cover a faded green and its spine frayed at the edges.

                The title started with an elegant, gold _T._

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea while I was driving around the lake on the way home and it just wouldn't leave me alone. Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading this jumbled mess :)


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